The Liberal Democrats have welcomed changes to Carer's Allowance earnings limits in yesterday's Budget, while emphasising that more action is needed to improve local healthcare services including GP and dental appointments, and cancer care waiting times.
Runnymede Liberal Democrats have criticised Ben Spencer’s decision not to support a motion that would have seen the Government rescue community healthcare and end the carer's repayment scandal.
The government is reintroducing the £150 Warm Home Discount Scheme to support households facing rising energy bills this winter.
5,319 of those aged over 80 in Runnymede and Weybridge are at risk of losing their Winter Fuel Payments due to the government’s cuts, the latest official statistics released on the 24th September, have revealed.
This week, Runnymede Liberal Democrats were thrilled to co-host a stall with the Young Liberals at Royal Holloway’s Freshers Fair, where we connected with a wave of passionate and engaged students.
As housing affordability and tenant rights continue to be major concerns across the UK, the 2024 Renters Reform Bill is set to bring transformative changes to the private rental sector.
At the County Council meeting today the Liberal Democrats opposed proposals to cut services. The proposals were made in a report prepared by consultants for the Business Delivery Review commissioned by the Conservative administration to find £50 million of savings in County Council expenditure. Councillor Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council said: "This Review was supposed to identify savings without cutting frontline services. Unfortunately it has failed. The proposals include closing 15 youth centres and 6 libraries as well as cutting bus services. On top of this, the proposals drastically reduce the number of highways staff, which is likely to worsen the ability of highways to deal with problems promptly.
Surrey County Council's Executive have decided not to proceed with its PFI contract plans to build a new County Hall in Brewery Road, Woking. They announced this last week, but without revealing which other alternative they want to pursue instead. As a result of questions by County Councillor John Doran (Woking, Horsell) at this week's Council meeting it emerged that the Executive have not yet agreed how best to proceed and an announcement about the future should not be expected for some time.
Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, has called for the Council to reduce the level of mineral extraction in the County over the next decade. The County Council's Conservative Executive has determined that the level of minerals extraction should be set at 2.24 million tonnes annually. The Liberal Democrats believe that this is too high.
This white paper is not only flawed, it is also dangerous - dangerous to the health of our education system and dangerous to our children's education. An admissions "free for all" will cause widespread segregation and unequal educational opportunity. Please note our two Labour councillors - unequal educational opportunity! I think you will agree that these are not traditional Labour values - but there again this is New Labour isn't it?
The Government's new Education white paper is a massive document, with a great many proposals in. I guess only Paul Gray and the Executive member at this point could give an indication of the work that will go on to form a detailed response, and the length of time this will take. It's a paper that's full of ideas and ideology. There's a quite a way to go in terms of legislation and setting up the new systems, and a lot of decisions still to be made. In putting forward this motion, we have chosen to focus on three areas of concern, which - in educationspeak - will be particularly challenging to Surrey and may lead to undesirable outcomes.
At the Council Meeting Surrey's Lib Dem Councillors proposed a motion calling on the County Council to reject a number of key elements of the White Paper. Liberal Democrat Schools Spokeswoman, County Councillor Diana Smith said, "There are some very bad ideas in this white paper. Ideas that, if implemented, could do real damage to Surrey's schools."
We believe everyone deserves high-quality healthcare, accessible when and where it’s needed and free at the point of use.
The Liberal Democrats have laid out a bold and ambitious plan to restore the UK’s natural environment and ensure that everyone can access a clean, healthy, and thriving green space.
For many people, Buy Now Pay Later is a useful and convenient solution, offering them flexibility with their purchases. But consumers need stronger protections.
